What a wonderful article in the NY Times about Tommy Femia, Judy Garland impersonator. from RC in Austin, Texas Tommy Femia Does Judy
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
The article is great, but I Googled his performance, and I'm not impressed.
Maybe I'm spoiled by the quality of Jim Bailey's interpretation of Garland, which I saw live twice. I don't think Tommy comes close to that. Not in visually or aurally.
Nice article, though.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Tommy Femia does an amazing Judy Garland in both song and patter. There are times during his performance that you swear you are seeing the real Judy. It's uncanny and amazing.
I'm not sure what video you are talking about but if you see Tommy live you will see what I mean.
Tommy is so talented and so dead on as Judy. Catch his act!
He channels Judy so well.. it is surreal at moments.
Yeah the clip on the NY Times article isn't very impressive, if i was not reading the article I would have never guessed that he was attempting to impersonate Judy. But maybe it didn't translate well into a different medium?
Will: They don't give out awards for helping people be gay... unless you count the Tonys.
"I guarantee that we'll have tough
times. I guarantee that at some point
one or both of us will want to get out.
But I also guarantee that if I don't
ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for
the rest of my life..."
I remember Jimmy James. With regards to Tommy Femia, I've not seen him perform. But, he is obviously a talented individual and has crafted a career from performing as "Judy." No one can ever compare to THE Judy Garland. (However, towards the end, her decline was evident.) But the different persons who impersonate her give us a glimpse of her talents. from RC in Austin, Texas
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
You should check out Peter Mac. He is spot on and incredible as Judy.
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
``oscar wilde``
I looked at the videos of Tommy on You Tube. First off, most of the video clips are of terrible quality filmed on cell phones.
Secondly, the illusion works a hell of a lot better in a theatre or cabaret setting than in an on camera setting. The camera does point out all the flaws while distance makes the illusion work so much better.
Please see Tommy in person--- and then judge. Cabaret and Theatre are Tommy Femia's venue.
Everyone is entitled to like what they like, of course, but I have to say that I did see Femia in person, and I thought it was kind of awful. It wasn't funny enough to be camp, and the impression, to my mind, was just okay. I wasn't sure why I was watching it.
what's challenging here is how "Judy" to be...accurate to her actual mannerisms, or as implied, "camping" it up to match what we've COME to think of as her...an exaggerated caricature, as all impressions are. i thought Isabel Keating was dead-on in BOY FROM OZ, but i can see how some thought her performance as either too understated or too over the top (and she didn't even have gender boundaries to cross). It all depends on how we view "our" Judy, and what attributes the tributist shares or discards from our memories.
Will: They don't give out awards for helping people be gay... unless you count the Tonys.
"I guarantee that we'll have tough
times. I guarantee that at some point
one or both of us will want to get out.
But I also guarantee that if I don't
ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for
the rest of my life..."
and did anyone see the Barbeau Garland bioplay on Christopher Street? i knew most of the creatives but never got there while it was running.
Will: They don't give out awards for helping people be gay... unless you count the Tonys.
"I guarantee that we'll have tough
times. I guarantee that at some point
one or both of us will want to get out.
But I also guarantee that if I don't
ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for
the rest of my life..."